Skip to main content
HR 3168 118th Congress House Armed Forces and National Security

To establish a Joint Autonomy Office in the Department of Defense, and for other purposes.

Introduced: May 9, 2023 Introduced by: Wittman, Robert J. Republican · Virginia See on congress.gov
This bill died when the 118th Congress ended
It never became law before the 118th Congress (2023–2024) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
May 9, 2023
Introduced in House
May 9, 2023
Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
 Ask about this bill AI · grounded in the bill text

Have a question about what this bill does? Ask in plain English; the answer is drawn from the bill's actual text and official record, and it'll tell you when something isn't in the text rather than guess.

AI answers can be imperfect; always confirm against the full bill text.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

This bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to establish the Joint Autonomy Office to coordinate and accelerate the delivery of all-domain autonomous systems to operational users. Under the bill, an autonomous system means a system with the ability to conduct integrated sensing, perception, communication, decision-making, and action within specific boundaries and independently from a human operator's instruction.

The office may contract with private sector entities to aid and facilitate the execution of its duties. DOD must brief Congress on the status of the office not later than 90 days after the enactment of this bill.

The office must establish a department-wide classification framework for autonomous capabilities. The office must regularly reassess and update the framework to ensure it incorporates recent developments in technology, standards, and operational requirements relating to autonomous capabilities. The office must brief Congress on the results of the reassessments and any resulting revisions.

Additionally, the office must develop and implement a plan and procedures to standardize the planning, resourcing, and integration efforts with respect to autonomous capabilities for current and future systems across DOD. 

What's happening now May 9, 2023

Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.

 Related & companion bills 1
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 3168: To establish a Joint Autonomy Office in the Department of Defense, and for other purposes.. 118th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/118-HR-3168/
MLA
"H.R. 3168: To establish a Joint Autonomy Office in the Department of Defense, and for other purposes.." 118th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/118-HR-3168/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 3168, 118th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/118-HR-3168/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 3168: To establish a Joint Autonomy Office in the Department of Defense, and for other purposes.](https://openamerica.io/bill/118-HR-3168/)
Report a problem